Escape to Aomori

Aomori City is the northernmost prefectural capital city on Honshu, Japan’s main island. An important port city, situated on Mutsu Bay, Aomori is bordered by the Hakkoda mountain range. Humans have inhabited the prefecture for at least 15,000 years, and the oldest evidence of pottery in Japan was discovered at the Jōmon period Odai Yamamoto I site.

The city centre is home to craft shops, department stores, and trendy clothing stores on the side streets. It is also home to an old-fashioned market with an array of stalls selling a variety of fish and mountains of Aomori Prefecture’s most famous product: delicious oversized apples. Relatively unexplored, Aomori’s natural landscapes, famous festivals, and World Heritage sites can all still be called “hidden gems.” Hiking through unspoiled wilderness, riding in trains heated by stoves, and sampling delectable seafood and sake are just a few of its attractions.

The city boasts unrivaled seafood from the cold waters of both the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean and Aomori’s local Specialties include Tsugaru Lacquerware, Aomori Black Garlic, Tsugaru Painted Kites, Aomori Apples & Ichigo-ni (a seafood stew) Today Aomori is best known for its spectacular Nebuta Matsuri summer festival. Although it is only held over a few days in August, the gigantic bamboo framed lanterns of various forms (including samurai, kabuki actors, and sumo wrestlers) are displayed in an exhibition all year round.